Boston Red Sox: Ben Taylor Makes Opening Day Roster as Final Reliever

Injuries have shuffled the expected bullpen for the Boston Red Sox, giving improbable rookie Ben Taylor a chance to make his mark.

Last winter, the Boston Red Sox acquired up-and-coming reliever Carson Smith to shore up what had been a liability the previous year. Smith missed his first season with the Red Sox after having Tommy John surgery and will likely be out until June of this year.

This winter, the Red Sox traded infielder Travis Shaw for another great relief pitcher, Tyler Thornburg.

Thornburg, who had a 2.15 ERA with Milwaukee last season, is dealing with a right shoulder impingement and will not be ready for Opening Day.

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This opens the door for Ben Taylor, a young rookie who was on nobody’s radar until yesterday. Taylor is a 24-year-old right-hander who was drafted by the Red Sox in the seventh round in 2015. He has a 3.02 ERA in fifty minor league games over two seasons, with only 21 of those appearances coming at AA Portland and none at any higher level. Taylor was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training this year, but has worked his way onto the Red Sox 40-man roster and will fill the final spot in the depleted Opening Day bullpen to begin the season.

Taylor had a 3.46 ERA over eleven Spring Training games and gave up six runs over thirteen innings, but he was also third on the team (behind Chris Sale and Kyle Kendrick, two starters) in strikeouts. Taylor struck out nineteen batters over his thirteen innings and only walked three. He had 98 strikeouts over his 79 innings of minor league ball last year and Red Sox manager John Farrell has taken note.

"“He’s had a fantastic spring training,” said Red Sox manager John Farrell, via the Boston Herald. “He’s emerged year over year . . . he’s a quality strikeout performer in the minor leagues and he’s shown that here in camp, but what stood out to us was the mound presence and the poise that he showed.”"

Taylor beat out Noe Ramirez for the final bullpen spot, proving that previous experience in the bigs means nothing if a player’s performance is subpar. Ramirez had a 4.66 ERA over ten appearances and allowed twelve hits in 9.2 innings. His 5.19 ERA over parts of two major league seasons did not help his case.

Taylor’s best pitch is his fastball, which can touch 95 miles per hour. He also throws a slider and a changeup, both of which have improved over his two minor league seasons, but his fastball is expected to be his strikeout pitch. Taylor will find work in the middle innings, joining Heath Hembree, Robbie Ross, Fernando Abad, and Robby Scott as the bridge to Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, and Craig Kimbrel in the late innings.

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Taylor and the rest of the Red Sox bullpen will need to hold strong until Thornburg returns and can only patiently await the return of Smith in early summer.

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